In the context of growing product functionalities of component carriers equipped with one or more electronic components and increasing miniaturization of such components as well as a rising number of components to be mounted on the component carriers such as printed circuit boards, increasingly more powerful array-like components or packages having several components are being employed, which have a plurality of contacts or connections, with ever smaller spacing between these contacts. Removal of heat generated by such components and the component carrier itself during operation becomes an increasing issue. At the same time, component carriers shall be mechanically robust and electrically reliable so as to be operable even under harsh conditions. All these requirements go hand in hand with a continued miniaturization of component carriers and their constituents.
In particular, it may be advantageous to efficiently contact electrically conductive layer structures and/or components mounted on and/or embedded in a component carrier with proper quality. Formation of mechanical vias and laser vias, which may be copper filled, may be advantageous for this and other purposes. However, when forming through holes by laser drilling in a core comprising a dielectric central layer, with two copper foils on both opposing main surfaces thereof, an undesired lateral overhang of the laser patterned copper foils beyond the dielectric central layer with its through hole may be obtained. The term “overhang” may denote a partial length of the electrically conductive layer structure directly adjacent to a respective one of the windows extending through the electrically conductive layer structures over which length the respective portion of the electrically conductive layer structure hangs freely in a cantilever fashion spaced with regard to the electrically insulating layer structure and is not supported from below by material of the electrically insulating layer structure along the extension of the overhang. Such an overhang may result in cracks or voids in the through hole when filled with copper. As a result, the component carrier may have a limited electric reliability.